WHO WE ARE










In 1979, Bud and I were wrapping up our 3rd year of Bible school ministry at Maranatha Institute in Centerville, Ohio. Bud was the President and an Instructor, and served on the Pastoral Staff of First Baptist Church. I was also an Instructor, and the church organist. While attending a regional ministerial meeting in April, we were presented with an invitation to launch and establish a college-level Bible Training Institute for a group of indigenous churches in Ghana, West Africa. Accepting this invitation would require us to make a 4 year residential commitment. After several weeks of careful prayer and consideration, we accepted. As a result, Leadership Training International was established in June, 1979. The idea of foreign missions ministry was nothing new to either one of us. Throughout our 16 years in ministry as Pastors, Bible College Teachers and Administrators, we frequently  became “short-term” missionaries to Mexico, Haiti and the Caribbean Islands. By accepting the invitation to go to Ghana, we were finally able to fully answer the call to foreign missions that God placed on each of our lives in our early teenage years. We went with a new and unique philosophy of missions – train the nationals, then turn the work over to them once it is established. This was a pioneering concept that was unheard of in those days. At the end of our 4 year commitment, we did just that. We turned the full-time operation of the school over to the nationals in 1983, and returned home to take the full-time Pastorate of another church. Our working relationship with the Ghanaians has continued throughout the years, and from time-to-time, we have returned to offer encouragement and guidance when needed, and to conduct Continuing Education Seminars for Pastors and Ministers. The Bible school graduates have gone on to establish their own works, and continue to raise up and teach the next generation of church leaders among their own people. Some have even gone on to do missions ministry as well.

In 1987, we resigned our Pastorate to return again to full-time missions ministry. This time, we accepted an invitation to work with a group of churches in India, who like the Ghanaians, needed a means by which to train the next generation of leaders for their churches. We first set about this task by conducting annual regional leadership conferences throughout Maharashtra state. Over the years, this has evolved into a single Annual Pastors and Ministers Conference, hosted in the City of Pune, and is accessible to ministers from all over the region.

That same year, we also accepted an invitation to work with a fledgling evangelistic ministry in Jos, Nigeria, where Christianity was just beginning to make significant inroads into the Muslim stronghold of northern Nigeria. We joined their efforts by conducting city-wide crusades, planting churches, and reaching remote villages through medical missions. Here, too, we introduced the concept of leadership conferences to the Nigerians, conducting Annual Pastor’s and Ministers Conferences in the spring, and Women in Ministry Conferences in late summer. Over the years, we have seen a tremendous harvest of fruit for our labors. The work continues to strengthen and grow with the 23rd Annual P&M Conference in May, 2011.
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After more than 40 years of full-time active partnership in ministry with Bro. Cassidy, Mary Ann took on the role as President of LTI in 2006, when the Lord called Bud home.

THE EARLY YEARS
Mary Ann was raised in Texas between Austin and Pt. Arthur, and grew up in the parsonage as the eldest child of Rev. J.P. Barkley and Rev. Ellie Neal Barkley, who pastored full gospel churches. She is also the niece of Rev. Slater Neal, who was a graduate of L.I.F.E. Rev. Neal became the worship leader for Aimee Semple MacPherson, and for many years he also served as an evangelist in the Four Square Church before taking the pastorate of Trinity Church (later known as Bethel Temple; now known as The Sanctuary) in Pt. Arthur, Texas. Mary Ann considers Bethel Temple her home church. She found the Lord in salvation at the age of 6 and by the time she turned 11, she was baptized in the Holy Spirit and touched by God for service in foreign missions. After graduating from high school, Mary Ann attended Southwest Texas University in San Marcos and then Lamar University in Beaumont. In 1963, she moved to Houston where, through a series of events that could have only been orchestrated by the hand of God, she met and married a young evangelist and associate pastor named Bud Cassidy. Bud was also an anointed musician and worship leader, having served as Head of the Music Department for Southern Bible College in Houston, and Mary Ann was an accomplished church organist. Worship and music was an integral part of their ministry together. Wherever the Lord led, she served as pastor’s wife and co-pastor, teacher and Bible College Instructor, secretary and administrator. Mary Ann answered the call to preach at age 30. She is a dynamic conference speaker and anointed teacher of the Word. She was officially ordained in 1985.

MISSIONS, A WAY OF LIFE
After many years of working as a short-term missionary while serving as pastor’s wife and Bible School Instructor, then working as a full-time missionary and Conference Speaker, God led Mary Ann to minister specifically to women who are in any way involved in leadership ministry. In 1984, she began a fellowship called “Just For Pastors Wives,” and published a newsletter called “Woman-to-Woman.” In 1998, she began annual ministry to women in Nigeria known as “Women in Ministry Conferences” which are held in Jos, Nigeria and also in Accra, Ghana. In 2002, she co-hosted a Women’s Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in which representatives from 15 African nations were present. She conducts similar conferences in India, as well, that coincide with the Pastors & Ministers Conferences there.

From 1993 through 2003, Mary Ann led a team of dedicated Christians every December to minister to hundreds of orphaned children in Romania, Mexico, or Guatemala. In addition to the numerous roles in which she has served, Mary Ann has authored and co-authored teaching materials including many of the core subject materials for the Bible College Curriculum, as well as several self-study guides and conference materials, and has recorded several audio subjects. Mary Ann continues to teach, train and equip the next generation of church leaders in these nations, and wherever else the Lord may lead.
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Mark and Julie have been married for 20 years and are partners in every adventure that life brings. Ministry is no different. They share a passion and calling for missions that has been the driving force in the lives and is the “main thing” around which they’ve created their life together. Through the years, they have served the Body of Christ in various roles from children’s church directors to youth leaders and small group leaders. Currently, Mark and Julie head up the work in Nigeria and serve in their local church as youth pastors.

MARK is a born missionary, teacher, preacher, thinker, and ruminator. From open air crusades, to teaching in YWAM (Youth With A Mission) schools and Bible Colleges, he is very much “in his element,” both on the field and behind the pulpit. He was called into ministry shortly after he gave his heart to the Lord in 1983 and received his Christian education and ministerial training at the YWAM base in Elm Springs, Arkansas. Mark’s ministry experience began in missions, serving YWAM as a staff member for five years. He has led numerous short-term missions trips to several countries, conducting evangelism outreach programs, remote village evangelism, and holding discipleship training and leadership seminars. At home in Juneau, he serves closely beside the pastor of his home church. Having been raised in Alaska, Mark loves fly fishing, hunting, kayaking, camping and enjoying the splendor of God’s glorious creation.

JULIE is a worshipper, wife, mother, singer, musician, amateur song writer, and lover of God. Growing up in the parsonage as Bud and Mary Ann Cassidy’s middle daughter, she was involved in every aspect of the ministry from an early age. Julie was first exposed to the mission field when she was eight years old in Ghana, West Africa where she was filled with the Holy Spirit. She has a passion for Africa and was called into missions ministry at age 11. Like her father, she also has a passion for worship and leading people into the presence of the Lord, and serves as a worship leader at her home church. Often referring to her work in the ministry as “other duties as assigned,” Julie has a heart to serve, a variety of talents, and a lifetime of ministry experience, which uniquely positions her to come along side others, fill in the gap and be used wherever needed. As youth pastors, she and Mark seize the opportunity to teach and train the next generation of their community, emphasizing the importance of discipleship.

As parents, Mark and Julie believe in teaching, equipping and training the next generation and, that philosophy begins at home. They are the very proud parents of 3 beautiful, Jesus loving daughters. Parenting their uniquely gifted and vastly entertaining girls continues to be the biggest privilege, blessing, and honor of their lives.

Pursuing God with all their hearts, while being transparent in the process, continues to be the focus of Mark and Julie’s lives in ministry, as parents, and with each other.
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